If you’re a web developer, you’ve probably heard some generalizations and stereotypes surrounding your profession. Do these myths contain truths in them? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Overall, you should look past these web development myths and focus on debunking them. Here are the most common web development myths.

1. You have to be a genius to code

Look, you have to be smart, but you don’t have to be the valedictorian of your class in order to be a web developer. In order code you have to be hard working. So while there are geniuses in the field, if you work hard, you’ll be just as good as them. Not everyone has to be a Mark Zuckerberg-type to program well.

2. Men are better coders

Really, there is no basis in this web development myth. It’s true that men make up much more of the field, but that doesn’t mean they are better coders than women. It just means that women aren’t studying to become web developers. In fact, the first person to be considered a “computer programmer” was a woman named Ada Lovelace.

3. Real coders work with Assembly Languages

No! Whether you work in HTML, CSS, Python, or Ruby you are a coder. You don’t need to master languages such as C and C++ to be a “real” coder. Some languages are more challenging than others, but that doesn’t mean certain languages aren’t important. All types of code is needed to work on the web — especially HTML.

Overall, these myths are harmful for aspiring coders. When it comes down to it, you just need to be passionate about learning and a hard worker in order to code. And don’t worry too much about which languages you like and don’t like. Don’t let web development myths like these stop you from becoming a coder.